Mobile World Congress 2018

Alcatel Idol 4 and 4S rock context-sensitive hardware key

Alcatel's swankiest new smartphones aim to get you a lot of hardware for less cash. We go hands-on.

1:58 / February 20, 2016

Transcript

The Alcatel is one of several manufacturers right now trying to make luxurious android phone that don't cost the earth.
It's latest SSID's are the Idol 4 and the Idol 4S.
But take a look at the Idol 4 to start with it's the less.
Powerful too, it has a 1080p 5.2 inch display.
Inside there's an octacore processor, on the back there's 13 megabytes of camera.
On the front you've got an 8 megapixel snapper.
It's running Android M and it's backed up by two gigabytes of RAM.
And if you swipe to the left here you can see some Alcatel software it's called one touch screen and it basically pulls in information from various different apps.
Just trying to give you information you need before you request it.
It's a little bit like Google Now.
Now, Alcatel has dropped the OneTouch name from it's products, so this isn't the OneTouch Idol4.
It's just the Alcatel Idol4.
But I'm told that it will still be keeping that OneTouch moniker.
For its software.
So that's the 4 and now there's also the 4S.
Now this one is a little bit of an upgrade in several respects.
To begin with, it has a slightly higher resolution sensor on the camera.
That's a 16 megapixel rear-facing camera, the front-facing camera on the 4S though is an 8 megapixel affair.
Just like you'd get on the Idol 4. It's got a snappier chip and a slightly bigger battery as well.
The biggest difference though, is the screen.
Now this is a higher resolution, 2560 by 1440 pixel resolution.
The actual screen itself is slightly bigger but the main change comes with the screen technology.
The screen's using AMOLED, which means that the colors are a little bit more vibrant.
It's a much better looking screen.
Finally, a fun feature on both phones is this, it's called the boom key.
It's this mechanical hardware button and it's kind of context sensitive, so it will do different things depending on what app you're in.
For example, if you're just on the home screen and you press it, then it'll show you some fun animated weather effects.
If you press it while you're in the gallery, then it'll make a little montage, it'll do other things as well.
I'm also told that if you're listening to music and you press the button it'll boost.
Base.
These phones are going to be available starting in Europe from the summer.
For much more, check out Cnet.com/mwc.